How to Avoid Non-Promotable Work: Advice from a Former Google Exec

Identifying and Avoiding Non-Promotable Work

• 💡 Nap work, defined as invisible or glue work like planning company off-sites or organizing shared drives, is not promotable and often falls disproportionately on women.
• 🎯 To avoid nap work, focus on saying yes to the big strategic projects and no to the small tasks that don't add value or align with key objectives.
• 🔑 Understanding what constitutes big work involves talking to your boss about their priorities and reading executive newsletters to identify key projects.

Strategies for Saying No

• 🚀 When asked to take on non-promotable tasks, frame it by asking your manager if it's an acceptable trade-off against larger strategic projects.
• ✋ A powerful tactic is to be comfortable with silence in meetings and physically refrain from volunteering for tasks you've done previously or that don't align with your current goals.
• ✅ Saying no is a strategic skill that demonstrates focus and can lead to being perceived as a badass leader, not a difficult employee.

Building a Promotable Career Narrative

• 📈 Maintain a running list of wins and impactful work to counter any feedback about not being a team player.
• ✍️ Implement a "Monday Manifesto": a brief weekly email to your boss highlighting two proud accomplishments from the past week and two planned for the upcoming week, using data and numbers to showcase impact.
• 🗣️ Self-promotion tastefully, or "shamelessness," involves sharing your accomplishments without feeling like you're bragging, which helps overcome imposter syndrome.

Leveraging AI and Relationships for Career Growth

• 🤖 While AI can assist with drafting communications and organizing thoughts, it cannot replace the human element of influence, relationship-building, and empathy.
• 🤝 Managing higher (building relationships with your boss's boss) and managing diagonally (building relationships with your boss's peers) are crucial for gaining influence and opportunities.
• 💡 The IKEA effect highlights that co-creating initiatives, even by getting 80% done and seeking input for the final 20%, increases buy-in and perceived value.

Actionable Steps for Career Advancement

• 💬 Practice "Woo with You": shift sentence structures in emails from "I" statements to "you" statements to increase influence and business leverage.
• 🎯 Identify and articulate your "power assets" – key business skills with tangible impact – and frame them using business-oriented language rather than solely soft skills.
• 🌟 Mentors and sponsors are vital; sponsors actively advocate for you behind closed doors, while mentors offer guidance.